In 1951 and 1952, before he became a newsman, Roger Mudd taught at a private boys' school in Rome, Ga. On Monday, he'll take public-TV viewers back to class as host of a five-part series examining the state of "Learning in America." Its first chapter examines, with often gloomy conclusions, how American education compares with that in Japan and other countries.

In 1951 and 1952, before he became a newsman, Roger Mudd taught at a private boys' school in Rome, Ga. On Monday, he'll take public-TV viewers back to class as host of a five-part series examining the state of "Learning in America." Its first chapter examines, with often gloomy conclusions, how American education compares with that in Japan and other countries.

Television is our biggest classroom, education one of our biggest problems. They merge tonight in the premiere of a PBS series titled "Learning in America," an ambitious, high-achieving five-parter that arrives at a time when the nation's system of education seems to be at a turbulent crossroads.

Television is our biggest classroom, education one of our biggest problems. They merge tonight in the premiere of a PBS series titled "Learning in America," an ambitious, high-achieving five-parter that arrives at a time when the nation's system of education seems to be at a turbulent crossroads.